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Committed To Fighting For Equity and Access in Public Education

Featuring interviews, testimony and analysis on issues facing public education in the U.S. through voices of teachers, parents, students, community members, education activists and education scholars. Education Radio is committed to exposing the profit driven interests fueling current education policies while addressing issues of true equity and access in public education.

Friday, December 23, 2011

On this week's program we take a step back to reflect on the first six months of Education Radio. During this time, we at Education Radio have had the opportunity to talk with a wide-variety of educators, students, parents and scholars who are engaged in the important work of resisting current neoliberal education reform efforts by actively working to disrupt the dominant narrative of education reform and fighting to create truly accessible and justice-based public schools and classrooms. It has been an inspiring and moving journey thus far. So, in this show we take some time to revisit a selection of the many voices and stories that we have shared thus far.

Friday, December 16, 2011

On this week’s show we take a look at Stand for Children, an organization that defines its mission as one of grassroots advocacy for public education. According to a recent Rethinking Schools article by Ken Libby and Adam Sanchez:

“Stand for Children was founded in the late 1990s as a way to advocate for the welfare of children. It grew out of a 1996 march by more than 250,000 people in Washington, D.C. The aim of the march was to highlight child poverty at a time when Congress and the Clinton administration were preparing to “end welfare as we know it.” Jonah Edelman, son of children’s and civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman, co-founded the group and continues to serve as CEO. Stand’s first chapter was in Oregon, but the group now operates in eight additional states: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.”

Stand for Children’s claim, that they are a grassroots organization that stands for access to quality education for all students, is appealing to many parents and educators. A closer inspection, however, reveals a very different agenda, one that is driven by vast amounts of corporate money and dangerous, ideology-driven notions of education reform. In this program we take a close look at Stand for Children and their controversial activities.

David Love

We hear stories from two Massachusetts school committee members who were former Stand members, but who left when they saw a significant shift in Stand’s approach: Roger Garberg (Gloucester) and Tracy O’Connell Novick (Worcester). We hear from the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, Paul Toner, on a controversial ballot initiative that Stand is pushing in the state. We also share a clip of Jonah Edelman, Stand co-founder and CEO, candidly speaking at the Aspen Institute about Stand’s true agenda to destroy the power of teachers unions. Then, we talked with the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, Karen Lewis, about her reaction to this clip and to Stand for Children.

Karen Lewis

Finally, we feature Deborah Polin and Tim Scott's interview with David Love, former Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and current Executive Director of Witness to Innocence, an organization that works with death row exonerees, about the larger social justice implications of Stand for Children’s activities. David is also the Executive Editor of The Black Commentator.

We'd like to note that Education Radio contacted Stand leadership in Massachusetts to request an interview. Stand is staffed by many people who consider themselves education activists, and we were genuinelyinterested in their take on what we were finding out about the organization. However, after initially being receptive to our request and scheduling an interview, they then presented some conditions and let us know that one Stand staff member would be speaking with us while another would be on the phone for support, and could stop the interview at any point. We agreed to these conditions, only to have them pull out a few hours before the interview was to take place. We can only surmise this is due to the fact that it would have been a difficult, and controversial, conversation.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

This week on education radio, we examine educational technology in the current climate of neoliberal education reform – particularly in regard to socioeconomic inequalities – and explore other possibilities for its use that support more democratic, creative and collaborative constructions of knowledge.

The relationship between education reform, technology, and socioeconomic inequalities is multilayered and complex, and our hope in this first in a series of shows on technology and education is to raise some of the larger political and ideological concepts framing how technology actually gets used. We also examine the current market for educational technology and its impact on educational practices.

We hear from Dan Schiller, Communication scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and author of the book Digital Capitalism; Martha Fuentes-Bautista, Commuication and Public Policy scholar at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Patricia Burch, Associate Professor at the USC Rossier School of Education/author of Hidden Markets, The New Education Privatization; and Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus at the USC Rossier School of Education.

James Banks is often referred to as the founder of multicultural education in the United States. He is a professor of education at the University of Washington. Over the past four decades, Banks has constructed a body of knowledge designed to disrupt curriculum based in dominant group norms by including perspectives from marginalized groups as a way to enable students to develop knowledge, attitudes, and skills to become active citizens in a multicultural nation and a diverse world.

A son of black farmers who grew up in Jim Crow south, James Banks became the first black professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle where he is also founding director of UW’s Center for Multicultural Education. In addition to writing over 20 books, Banks has served as a consultant to school districts, professional organizations, and universities throughout the United States and around the globe.

Kevin Kumashiro is professor of Asian American Studies and Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and president-elect of the National Association for Multicultural Education. His research and teaching span the field of anti-oppressive education, and include issues in teacher education, the “common sense” of schooling and the praxis of social justice education.

Kumashiro has taught in both elementary and secondary schools as well worked with student teachers, and has written numerous books and articles. He is simultaneously a researcher, teacher, and activist in the field of anti-oppressive education. In our interview, we hear from Kumashiro about what has led him to the work that he does. He talks about the purpose and function of schooling, as well as the “common sense” of education and education reform.

Friday, November 11, 2011

In this weeks program we speak with legal scholar and critical race theorist Patricia Williams and education scholar and activist Bill Ayers. We caught up with both of them in Chicago in November 2011, at the National Association for Multicultural Education's annual conference, for which they were both keynote speakers.

Patricia Williams is a legal scholar and was a pioneer in critical race theory.Critical Race Theory developed in the 1980 s as a result of the desire of many black legal scholars in the U.S. to develop a critique of liberal civil rights discourse, which embodied ideals of assimilation and integration. Critical Race Theory analyzes the way that white supremacy and racial power is reproduced over time and the role that law plays in this process. Patricia Williams is a professor of law at Columbia University and writes a column for The Nation magazine called Diary of a Mad Law Professor. In this program, she shares her perspective on race and inequity in the U.S. education system.

Bill Ayers is a distinguished professor of Education and Senior University Scholar in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago where his work has focused on teaching for social justice and issues in urban education. His involvement in education reaches back decades, and includes primary school teaching and work in early innovative urban education reform efforts. Bill is well-known for his leadership in militant resistance groups during the Vietnam War, within Students for a Democratic Society, the Weathermen and Weather Underground. We spoke with Bill about resistance and hope in the movement to transform our society and our schools.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

In this week’s program, we feature the Occupy Together movement; also referred to as the 99% movement. We share testimony of educators, parents, students, and teacher union organizers who are participating, and we reflect on the time we spent at Occupy locations in New York, Boston and Amherst, Massachusetts. We also explore the deep connections between this movement and the fight for equity in public education.

We are living in a time when banks and corporations responsible for the most recent economic collapse received massive government bailouts, many of which are now thriving more than ever, and corporate profits on a whole are at an all time high. Military spending is higher now than at any point since World War II as a means to build and maintain a much-despised empire abroad, and despite a major recession, the wealthiest Americans have grown even richer.

Consequently, massive and extensive unemployment is making a bad situation worse for many, especially African Americans and Latinos who are experiencing further declines in employment rates, rising poverty rates, falling homeownership rates, and decreasing health insurance and retirement coverage. Additionally, the overall number of people living in poverty has reached the largest number in the 51 years for which poverty estimates are available; and the income gap between the top 10 percent and the bottom 90 percent has reached a level higher than any other since 1917, which includes the “Great Depression” of the 1930s.

Set against this context, we at Education Radio have been inspired by the 99% movement – and see ourselves not as outside of it as neutral bystanders, but as deeply connected to it, with a responsibility to use the platform we have to continue to disrupt the dominant narrative. So a group of us spent a few days down at Occupy Wall Street, observing, participating, and documenting the range of participant voices, specifically those who are invested in public education.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Peck Full Service Community School – which is part of a district under threat of corrective action by the state -- is attempting to create aschool community where engagement, voice, shared decision making, and caringare understood to be central to student achievement. In this second part of a two-part episode, we return toPeck Full Service Community School to examine the complexities of how itadheres to its two core values -- ‘student achievement’ and ‘unconditional positive regard’ -- within thecurrent climate of high-stakes testing and strict accountability structures. As Education Radio has come to know the people and practices of Peck, wefind ourselves raising questions about not only how, but if, school communitiescan be remade to be more human and democratic under the narrowing andoppressive pressures of our current accountability systems.

In this episode we again hear from Paul Hyry-Dermith, Principal of the Peck Full Service Community School, as well as two teachers at Peck, Katie Silva and Justin Cotton. We also spoke with Alan Bloomgarden, a community partner and Peck Access Coordinator.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Community schools, wrap around schools, and full service community schools are all names used to describe a growing trend that sees school –community partnerships as a means to address the issues of poverty- homelessness-hunger-lack of health care-that must be attended to before students can be expected to focus on learning. The connection between poverty and poor school performance is real and well documented. While the neo-liberal discourse dismisses the impact of poverty on student learning and even suggests, in the twisted manipulations of language that mark its narrative, that to attend to a child’s poverty is to somehow diminish the student’s potential, going to school hungry, living with insecurity about shelter, and struggling to meet basic needs like heating, health care, vision and dental care severely impact children as they begin the school day.

For this week's program, Education Radio went to William Peck Full Service Community School in Holyoke Massachusetts to find out how they understand, and practice, what it means to be a full service community school. At Peck, located in Holyoke, one of the poorest communities in Massachusetts, we discovered a school community where discourses of caring, of relationship, and of humanness dominate - and are seen as essential to student achievement. At Peck family engagement equates to voice, decision making, and active participation in the day to day life of the school.

This program features several different voices and perspectives at Peck - we hear from Principal Paul Hyry-Demith, Project Director Megan Harding, Family Engagement Coordinator Maria Luisa Arroyo and teacher Justin Cotton. We also hear from Peck parents and Family Leaders Gloria Aquino and Raphael Torres as well as a Peck student.

Friday, September 30, 2011

In this week's program, we explore the proliferation of virtual schools. Virtual schools offer on-line education to primary and secondary school students without the added expenses associated with brick and mortar structures and unionized teachers and support staff.

We hear opinions on virtual schools from well-known education scholars Jonathon Kozol and Diane Ravitch. We investigate one such virtual school, the Massachusetts Virtual Academy in Greenfield, Massachusetts. We talk with the superintentendent of schools, Dr. Susan Hollins, who was the driving force behind the opening of that school in 2010, and we also speak with two Greenfield School Committee members, Maryelen Calderwood and Andrew Blais, who opposed it. Finally, we turn to early childhood education scholar Nancy Carlsson-Paige, who talks about the vitally important social, emotional and cognitive needs of young children that are in danger of not being met by virtual schools.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.

As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
What you can do in his name here and here.

In the movement for equity in public education what is often missing is a nuanced understanding of what students' lives are like inside the classroom - what are the social, emotional and cognitive impacts of decades of inadequate schooling and damaging education reform policies on students and student learning and what are the potential long term consequences - both on students and for society?

In this weeks program we hear from Nancy Carlsson-Paige, early childhood education scholar and author who talks about what the developmental needs of school-age children are and how they aren't being met by the current system. Instead, young children experience classrooms that are increasingly devoid of things like play, due to policies that promote an individualistic rather than collaborative climate and aggravate the differences between affluent and under-resourced schools. We also hear from Pauline Lipman, a Professor of Policy Studies in the College of Education, University of Illinois-Chicago about what is needed in order to address the challenges facing public education.

Follow the links below to download this show as a podcast:
Education Radio Program #6 on Internet Archive
Education Radio Program #6 on Audioport

Friday, September 16, 2011

In this week's program we take some time to explore the dominant narrative shaping so-called liberal education reform - how did this narrative evolve, what kinds of messages are being communicated, how does the on-the-ground experience of many teachers and students expose contradictions, and what does it look like to uncover a counter narrative?

Sut Jhally

We hear from media scholar Sut Jhally, as well as teachers JulieCavanagh, Alev Dervish & Brian Jones and parent & community member Lisa Donlan: four of the filmmakers of the Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, a critical response to the heavily publicized and corporate backed 2010 film Waiting for Superman, a movie that further propagandizes ongoing education reform efforts that are influencing public perceptions and education policy in the U.S. The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman is just one example of grassroots efforts to deconstruct the myths that are upheld in the dominant discourse in the U.S. around public education.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Recounting his early days in education, remembering the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and continuing the fight for equality in our nation's public schools, Jonathan Kozol delivers an impassioned and inspiring speech to a group of educators. Take a little time out of your busy day to listen to this tireless activist, educator, author and brilliant raconteur. When it is over you will be inspired to take action, hug a teacher and share his message with loved ones.

Next weeks show will focus on the film The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for “Superman.” This film exposes and interrupts the dominant narrative within the film “Waiting for Superman” which serves as another catalyst for the privatization of public education by hedge fund millionaires and corporate interests. As the filmmakers put it: Public Education is not for sale!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

This week's show features Diane Ravitch's keynote address from the Save Our Schools Conference that took place in Washington D.C. in July, 2011. In this keynote, Ravitch presents arguments against NCLB and Race to the Top, within a larger critique of federal education reform.

You can download our show as a podcast via the following two links (Google Chrome users please use Internet Archive):

A Professor of Education at NYU and an education historian, Diane Ravitch is a former neoliberal education reform advocate and Bush I Assistant Secretary of Education who has since made a remarkable about face to become a leading critic of NCLB and RTTT. She is now an aggressive advocate for public education to be the primary engine for democratic citizenship.

From 1991 to 1993, she was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. She was responsible for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education. As Assistant Secretary, she led the federal effort to promote the creation of voluntary state and national academic standards. From 1997 to 2004, she was a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the federal testing program.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Read the Ed Week story here, and then check out our Program #2 Interview with CUNY Graduate Center's Michelle Fine to hear specific stories of the impact of high security on students in NYC public schools.

Friday, August 26, 2011

As millions of students prepare to go back to school, budget cuts are resulting in teacher layoffs and larger classes across the country. This comes as the drive towards more standardized testing increases despite a string of cheating scandals in New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and other cities...

Tune in next week to Education Radio to hear Diane Ravitch's keynote address to the Save Our Schools conference held at American University in Washington D.C.

She writes, "In my nearly four decades as a historian of education, I have analyzed the rise and fall of reform movements. Typically, reforms begin with loud declarations that our education system is in crisis. Throughout the twentieth century, we had a crisis almost every decade. After persuading the public that we are in crisis, the reformers bring forth their favored proposals for radical change. The radical changes are implemented in a few sites, and the results are impressive. As their reforms become widespread, they usually collapse and fail. In time, those who have made a career of educating children are left with the task of cleaning up the mess left by the last bunch of reformers."

We continue our Save Our Schools report featuring several more voices from the event – voices that relay both stories of struggle and stories of hope. Michelle Fine, a faculty member at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, discusses the complicated ways that education reform is playing out within several New York City schools. Tabrian Joe is a Detroit public high school student organizer who led student walkouts to protest the city’s school closings. Sabrina Stevens Shupe, a former Denver Public Schools teacher and the public relations coordinator for Save Our Schools shares her story of being forced out of a teaching position for taking a stand against her principal’s vision of school reform.

Next Week: Diane Ravitch, former assistant secretary of education under George H.W. Bush, education reform leader and supporter of No Child Left Behind; who has since transformed into a staunch opponent of high stakes testing, charter schools and school privatization.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Education Radio is pleased to announce that our debut show is up and ready to go!

This show features an exclusive interview with Jonathan Kozol. It also includes a compilation of voices and testimony from youth, teachers, administrators and education activists from around the country (including Matt Damon) during the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action that occurred on July 30th, 2011 in Washington DC.

Wisconsin voters on Tuesday tossed two Republican state senators out of office in recall elections, sending a message that they won't tolerate the politics of extremism. Although the recall elections fell short of the goal of turning over control of the State Senate, we’re not done yet – and we’re not going away. The grassroots nature of what’s happening across our state will lay a foundation for future elections, resulting in a stronger democracy that represents the voice of working families. We have made astonishing gains in an uphill battle!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

"I believe that teachers in our public schools are not as the White House seems to think: merely the technicians of mechanical proficiency. I believe our teachers are warriors for justice, working on the front lines in the struggle for democracy."

Jonathan Kozol
Save Our Schools Conference
July 28, 2011

"Public education... is the largest shared experience we all have... so if we don't have strong public schools, we will not have a strong society... its just not possible."

Last weekend I traveled to D.C., with fellow field reporter Tim Scott, to cover the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action. We spent two days at the S.O.S. conference, participating in sessions with students, teachers, education scholars that dealt with a wide range of issues around inequity in public schooling. We interviewed Jonathon Kozol, Diane Ravitch, Michelle Fine, Diane Levin, the Brooklyn teachers/filmmakers behind “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman,” as well as students and teachers from across the country. We heard personal testimonies of what is happening in schools, in classrooms and in unions around the nation, and we left each day both frustrated and inspired by the stories we heard.

We then joined the rally and march on the Ellipse on Saturday – interviewing more teachers (as well as Matt Damon – and if you haven’t seen this fun clip from the media tent at the rally, be sure to check it out here).

We have returned from the event, not only armed with hours of insightful and passionate testimony – but with renewed conviction and energy to continue the fight for equitable public schooling for all children and fair labor conditions for teachers and staff.

In the next few weeks, we will debut our first show, which will focus on the rally and march. The second show will emerge from the material we gathered at the conference. The rest of our tentative topic line up is as follows:

3. Jonathon Kozol’s keynote from the S.O.S conference4. Diane Ravitch’s keynote from the S.O.S conference5. The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman…interview with the filmmakers and the movie profile6. Virtual Charter Schools7. Peck Full Service Community School in Holyoke

Please stay tuned for more information on where to find our shows! Also, please feel free to contact us at educatradio@gmail.com with comments and suggestions.

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